Page 61 of One Kind Soul

Nicole never imagined how hard it would be to clean maple syrup off a wood floor. The sticky stuff had hardened overnight, creating a taffy-like substance she had to scrape with a putty knife. Fortunately the bees had left so Christian didn’t need to worry about being stung, but of course he had other things to worry about.

Like my crazed sister, fueled by revenge.

It wasn’t as if Nicole was surprised Lynda would want to harass her for putting her in jail. That all made sense—if you had a warped mind like Lynda’s. What was surprising, however, was that Lynda had found her. Nicole had disappeared pretty well by moving to Kauai, and being in Vermont now should have been even better cover. How had Lynda tracked her down? And what did she have planned for Nicole?

Worse, what did Lynda have planned for the new friends Nicole had made in Maplehaven?

She had no doubt her sister was behind the store mess. From what she’d witnessed while being with Christian over the past two weeks, everyone here absolutely adored him.

Of course they do.

The man was incredible in every sense of the word. He’d been so sweet to her from the moment she’d met him back in Boston. He’d put his life on the line then and was doing it again now by vowing to keep her safe at his farm.

And she could do the same for him. She’d be vigilant in observing their surroundings. If Lynda came onto this property, she was going to regret it. From when she was a kid all the way into her twenties, Nicole had let Lynda bully her. She’d never understand why Lynda had treated her that way, but now that she’d been rid of her sister’s torture for several years—at least any new torture because the old stuff had left scars—Nicole wasn’t going to let Lynda ruin what came next in her life.

Especially if what came next was being with Christian.

“How are you making out over here?” Christian scanned the area, no doubt for bees.

“Okay. I’ve almost removed all the syrup. This stuff works well on pancakes, but sucks on floors.”

Christian pursed his lips. “I know the guy who makes that syrup too. Each drop is precious to both of us because it spells income.”

Nicole opened her mouth to say she was sorry—for the billionth time—but Christian crouched next to her and shut her up with a kiss.

“Not your fault, Nixen,” he whispered. “I’ll keep saying that until you believe it.”

“Any word from Donovan about finding Lynda?” She couldn’t rest knowing her sister could be out there, plotting her next assault.

Christian shook his head. “They’re working with the FBI too.”

“Because my sister is a dangerous fugitive.”

“That she is.” Christian stood and collected some broken glass in a dustpan. “Did you get in touch with your parents?

“Yeah. They haven’t heard from Lynda.” After Lynda’s and Tim’s arrests, Nicole had finally come clean to her parents about Lynda’s treatment. They’d been horrified because Lynda had been crafty. She’d kept her torment in the shadows, so they’d had no idea how long Nicole had been suffering. They’d gotten her into counseling, but talking about Lynda and what living with her had been like hadn’t helped. Getting away to Kauai had. Being somewhere else had given Nicole a fresh start and of course meeting Tessa and finding out what having a sister-type person in her life could actually be like had healed many of her wounds.

Not all of them though. Nicole didn’t think she’d ever be rid of Lynda’s voice in her head telling her she wasn’t good enough.

Although, Christian’s voice was getting louder. Each time he gave her compliments, each time he gazed at her, and each time he touched her, those feelings of inadequacy lost some of their power. Something about being on this farm brought her peace too.

That was why Lynda had to be kept away.

“Hey.” Aliza peeked over shelves that had once been for candles. “Yoga break? We’re heading to my studio to stretch, get our Zen back, eat. Then we’ll come back to finish up here. C’mon.”

Nicole looked up at Christian.

“Go. I trust this pack of chicks more than I trust the police to keep you safe, Nixen.” He reached his hand down to pull her to her feet.

She let out a groan at the kinks in her knees and back from being hunched over the spot she’d been cleaning. “Ugh. Yoga sounds good right now.”

“Yoga always sounds good. Meet me at my car in five minutes.” Aliza jogged out of the store.

Christian walked Nicole out, stopping to talk to two guys snaking wires for security cameras. Monitoring the entire farm wasn’t practical because of its size, but at least the store, barn, and farmhouse would be covered as would the main driveway.

As they neared Aliza’s car, another car screamed onto the property. An Indian woman ran toward them, her long black and gray hair streaming behind her.

“I’m so sorry, Christian.” Her words were laced with a faint accent and her dark brown eyes were filled with worry. “I could not get here any sooner. My grandson has been sick.”